Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-05-19
ON THE OKEEFINOKEE.
General Floyd's Scouting Expedi-
ton After Billy Bowlegs.
Captain Sterne Tells What BefelI Himself
and His Superior In the Swamp
While Trying to Trout Out"
Old Billy.

While Trying to trout OUT
Old Billy.
you kin mighty nigh al'us tell the
difference 'twixt Georgy man an
Flureedian by the way he calls the
name o that ere swamp" said Cap
tain Sterne, as we sat before blazing
fire in his big log house among the
pines. "Flureedians say 'Okyinoke,
and then Georgy people what lives in
the fiat woods, says 'Ofykinoke,' bout
half ther time. They git the name
terribly mixed, an make a mess O.
things, ginerly.
"What started to tell We bout wus
the time we m Giner'l Floyd went
bear hunt'n. You see Giner'l Floyd
was the best Injun fighter beyant, an
the Gove'ment pinted him to take is
men an rout old Billy Bowlegs out'n
that ere swamp. Old Bill, you know,
wus the head boss NV all the Iniuns, in
them days, an while he was ruther
peaceable hisse'f, he had two nv the
torn-downdest villyuns under i'm that
ever cussed the yearth with Their ill
begotten shadders. These wer' Tag
gertail an ole Mico. They'd come out
an raise a rumpus, N the whites 'ud
get alter 'em, an they'd just nat'lly
dive into that ere swamp like it wus
wash hold in the river. Onct in there,
an all the devils in Yeurrup could n
do noth'n' with 'em.
1.-The very mint Giner'l Floyd was
'p'inted he consated scheme to rout
'em out O. there, m he gethered all NV
us men an drilled 'em N regulated
'em so s Their could'n' be no slipence,
rs the boys wen they makes bad
shot playin' marbles. was cap
NV squad Nv scouts m rangers, an
Giner'l Floyd he sot lots O store by
me. l was to march ahead fust an fin
out the bes' way to git in to the ilants.
knowed ole Bowlegs by sight Wen
we was all frien'ly l useter see i'm
often at Traders Hill. wher' he'd come
to trade. He useter bring his two
boys, big strappin' yaller-legged fell
lers, long with i'm. He called one
Billy Buster beca'se he wus so fleshy,
an 'tother Billy Harvey, beca'se the
boyd hearn Giner'l Harvey, cuss an
tuck up the habit.
'The fus' day we came nigh the
swamp we had to splash long though
saw-permeter an gallberry bushes, an
bay-galls wher' the water was knee.
deep then, an that was in ruther dry
time. At last we came to the big
swamp, bout shutdown, an camped
Giner'l Floyd had sent sever'l Vaughn,
'roun' by ole Fort White. an 'roun'
tother side o the swamp, with grul
for the army when they got th'ougl
the swamp. Mex mo'rnin', at thu
peep O. day. we ms up m off, N for,
long we got good into it The mud
wus so soft an deep that we couldn
git along, so l tuck Giner'l Floyd t
one side N, SEES l: 'Giner'L Their hahn
but one way ter git though this err
bog, an that is to cut down saplin
m cut EN- into chunks N commence
layin' 'em down bout a good stel
apart Let every Teller gether up
chunk, step firm chunk to chunk till h
gifts as far as they're laid, then put hi
chunk bout step further on, an W
kin soon have a good crossway in t.
the fust liant
"Giner'l Floyd seed the notion was
good 'un, so he put 'em all to work, N
by twelve o'clock he had good cross
way built into the first liant. Soon a
we got there we begun to s'arch flu
Injun sign, but we didn't find noth'n'
but some old meat scaflils an two e
three holes where they'd built the
fires, so we struck camp. That nigh
we wus all purity lively, an some O. tn
boys purposed that as we'd diskivere
a new an unsettled kentry, we'd pei
feet right to name it, N then he said
whole rigermarole bout be t resolved
and so on, windin' up with namin' tn
new islant 'Floyd's liant We all Sc,
inded the motion, n no dickens {
that ere name hain't stuck to it eve
sence.
Mex mo'nin', afo'day, l went I
Giner'l Floyd N walked i'm up, N ST
l: Giner'l, s'pose'n we go an sc
what's t'other side o this ere liar
afore we go any furder. Eff hits a bi
lake, wy Wen halter change our cos
Eff hits only loblolly mash we ma
be able to ford it He greed to it, al
takin' our guns, regular old long-tawe
rifles, they wus, we started off. att
cautionin' the boys to be plum read
'g'nst we got back.
1--WE went straight BASTARD as mig
as we could come at il, and soon struC
high, dry hammock land. as rich
ever crow flew over. As it can
light the squirrels N birds n 9th
small varmunts came out as thick
hops, n jest cheeped n chartered t.
they made the woods ring. All Nv